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launching gadget real (by Urish Wynton)

Tue, 11 Dec 2012 21:01:48 +0800

launching gadget real (by Urish Wynton)

PSY - GANGNAM STYLE (강남스타일) M/V Making Film (by officialpsy)

Wed, 05 Sep 2012 21:41:23 +0800

PSY - GANGNAM STYLE (강남스타일) M/V Making Film (by officialpsy)

sciencenote: Clues for Cancer Increased risk of breast and...

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 15:10:03 +0800

sciencenote:

Clues for Cancer

Increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer are associated with faults in a gene called BRCA2. Researchers already know that the healthy version of this gene produces a protein that repairs damaged DNA. Recent work suggests it might also be necessary for proper cell division – the doubling of the genome (all the DNA) in a cell, which is then split between two daughter cells. To investigate, researchers looked at the inner workings of human cells lacking the BRCA2 protein. This picture reveals their findings – DNA is stained blue and α-tubulin (a scaffold-like protein used here to identify different cells) is coloured red. Each fully formed cell has only one nucleus (blue blob) – suggesting the two copies of the genome have been successfully divided into separate cells. So BRCA2 – at least in humans – doesn’t control cell division.

discoverynews: 500 Million-Year-Old ‘Mistake’ Led to Humans A...

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 15:07:38 +0800

discoverynews:

500 Million-Year-Old ‘Mistake’ Led to Humans

A spineless creature experienced two doublings in DNA, triggering the evolution of humans and other animals.

keep reading

Image: An amphioxus (also called a lancelet), which is a very distant cousin to humans and other vertebrates. It is the creature most similar to the original spineless organism that existed before a major genomic event occurred. Credit: Carol MacKintosh

skeptv: Lawrence Krauss: ‘A Universe From Nothing’ HuffPost...

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 15:00:10 +0800

skeptv:

Lawrence Krauss: ‘A Universe From Nothing’

HuffPost Science Correspondent Cara Santa Maria speaks with physicist and author Lawrence Krauss about how the universe came from nothing, and how modern physics has changed our understanding of what nothing really is.

fuckyeahfluiddynamics: In this video two droplets of oil fall...

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 14:58:33 +0800

fuckyeahfluiddynamics:

In this video two droplets of oil fall through a bath of isopropyl alcohol. The oil is denser than alcohol, and the two fluids are miscible. The velocity and density gradients where the two fluids meet generate hydrodynamic instabilities that create the distinctive patterns seen in the falling drops. (Video credit: BYU Splash Lab)

Mirror neuron

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 14:56:18 +0800

Mirror neuron:

youmightfindyourself:

A mirror neuron is a neuron that fires both when an animal acts and when the animal observes the same action performed by another. Thus, the neuron “mirrors” the behaviour of the other, as though the observer were itself acting. Such neurons have been directly observed in primate and other species including birds. In humans, brain activity consistent with that of mirror neurons has been found in the premotor cortex, the supplementary motor area, the primary somatosensory cortex and the inferior parietal cortex.

The function of the mirror system is a subject of much speculation. Many researchers in cognitive neuroscience and cognitive psychology consider that this system provides the physiological mechanism for the perception action coupling (see the common coding theory). They argue that mirror neurons may be important for understanding the actions of other people, and for learning new skills by imitation. Some researchers also speculate that mirror systems may simulate observed actions, and thus contribute to theory of mind skills, while others relate mirror neurons to language abilities. Neuroscientists such as Marco Iacoboni (UCLA) have argued that mirror neuron systems in the human brain help us understand the actions and intentions of other people. In a study published in March 2005 Iacoboni and his colleagues reported that mirror neurons could discern if another person who was picking up a cup of tea planned to drink from it or clear it from the table. In addition, Iacoboni has argued that mirror neurons are the neural basis of the human capacity for emotions such as empathy.

(via Quora) If you are feeling mischievous, there are many things that you can do besides fake yawning to get reactions from people in your vicinity. Other things you can do:

cross or uncross your legs while sitting in a circle and watch everyone else follow suit.

put a hand up to your face when you are in a group and watch everyone else do the same.

cross your arms and everyone else will too

myNoSQL: MongoDB GridFS Over HTTP With mod_gridfs

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 14:55:52 +0800

myNoSQL: MongoDB GridFS Over HTTP With mod_gridfs:

nosql:

Aristarkh Zagordnikov wrote me an email describing the reasons that led his company create and open source mod_gridfs.

Some time ago we were looking for a way to serve files to the web right from the GridFS database. We considered different options, including IIS handler (we use .NET on…

propagandery: what would the trailer for 2001 look like if it...

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 14:54:39 +0800

propagandery:

what would the trailer for 2001 look like if it was cut today?

2001: A Space Odyssey (2012 Trailer Recut) (by MoviesWithFSR)

skeptv: Sean Caroll - From Particles to People, The Laws of...

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 14:51:54 +0800

skeptv:

Sean Caroll - From Particles to People, The Laws of Physics and the Meaning of Life

via nohoax:

Brilliant lecture from Sean Carroll @ http://www.amazingmeeting.com/TAM2012/

A great lecture as always from Sean Carroll author of “From Eternity to Here”, not your usual physics lecture but very entertaining and informative. Enjoy.

[Unfortunately, Christina had to take her versions of the videos, from TAM, down. Here’s another version of Sean Carroll’s talk, enjoy it for now.
- Jake]

futurescope: Robot-Installed Solar Panels Cut Costs by 50% via...

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 14:51:21 +0800

futurescope:

Robot-Installed Solar Panels Cut Costs by 50%

via ieee:

Solar panels are obeying the will of Moore’s Law by getting ever cheaper and more efficient. What’s not getting cheaper or more efficient is the human labor required to install them. This keeps the cost of going solar higher than us duck-squeezing envirinmintl types would like, but robots are busy coming to our rescue by setting up solar power plants much cheaper and much, much faster. […]

[read more]

prostheticknowledge: Recycled Cardboard Bike Environmentally...

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 14:50:51 +0800

prostheticknowledge:

Recycled Cardboard Bike

Environmentally friendly, strong, and extremely cheap ($9!) - via Made In Israel:

They are made of recycled cardboard, can withstand water and humidity, cost nearly nothing – and might the concept of green vehicle. Izhar Gafni is a Kibbutz resident, who decided to prove to his fellow engineers that he could make a bicycle at nearly no cost.

“They said it was impossible”

Izhar Gafni, originally from Kibbutz Bror Hayil in the Negev, took the most popular and widely sold vehicle in the community and decided to turn it into an entirely green private venture.

Gafni’s bicycle redefines the idea of green transportation in every way, being environmentally friendly from early stages of production all the way through creation of the final product. The bicycles are made out of recycled and used cardboard.

… Gafni said that the production cost for his recycled bicycles is around $9-12 each, and he estimates it could be sold to a consumer for $60 to 90, depending on what parts they choose to add.

Here is a 6 minute video, where the inventor guides us himself how this project came about:

Izhar cardboard bike project from Giora Kariv on Vimeo.

You can read more about it here

laughingsquid: Bob Ross Remixed: Happy Little Clouds by...

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 14:44:18 +0800

laughingsquid:

Bob Ross Remixed: Happy Little Clouds by Melodysheep

biocanvas: Primary hippocampal neurons from a rat at 630-times...

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 14:43:13 +0800

biocanvas:

Primary hippocampal neurons from a rat at 630-times magnification.

Image by Paul Cuddon.

washingtonpoststyle: Manhattan this evening. Photo by Ryan...

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 14:42:39 +0800

washingtonpoststyle:

Manhattan this evening.

Photo by Ryan Brenizer via Alex Ogle

wildcat2030: Although humans are the only species that plays...

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 14:42:04 +0800

wildcat2030:

Although humans are the only species that plays poker, we are far from the only species that uses deception. And though several million dollars may seem like a high stakes game to us, the stakes for animals which use deception are even higher – often life or death. A frog which successfully fakes its croak to make itself seem bigger will be more likely to succeed in life than a similarly sized one which unsuccessfully fakes its croak. However, the ability to detect deception is just as important as the ability to deceive. A female frog with a talent for detecting deception will be more likely to mate with the actual biggest frog in the pond, rather than the one which only sounds the biggest, ensuring a greater likelihood of success for her genes. And so the evolutionary arms race continues, with liars and lie detectors successively attempting to one-up each other in reproductive fitness. (via Liars: It Takes One to Know One: Scientific American)

prostheticknowledge: The World’s First 3D Printed Gun A pistol...

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 14:40:28 +0800

prostheticknowledge:

The World’s First 3D Printed Gun

A pistol partly made from plastic 3D printed parts:

I assembled it first into a .22 pistol … It’s had over 200 rounds of .22 through it so far and runs great! To the best of my knowledge, this is the world’s first 3D printed firearm to actually be tested, but I have a hard time believing that it really is the first (if anyone can point me to earlier work, it would be much appreciated) … No, it did not blow up into a bazillion tiny plastic shards and maim me for life - I am sorry to have disappointed those of you who foretold doom and gloom.

Potentially worrying trend … (link)

Proof: Women In Mathematics #1: Hypatia of Alexandria

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 14:39:42 +0800

Proof: Women In Mathematics #1: Hypatia of Alexandria:

drumkey255:

This is THE original Woman In Math. The Big Math Momma. The Joan of Arcsines.

Born sometime between 350 and 371 AD in Alexandria, Egypt, Hypatia is the first notable woman in Western history to be known as a mathematician. Officially, she was Platonic scholar, the head of a…

theartofgooglebooks: Foxing. Throughout The Historic Gallery of...

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 14:39:13 +0800

theartofgooglebooks:

Foxing.

Throughout The Historic Gallery of Portraits and Paintings (1807). Original from the New York Public Library. Digitized July 19, 2007.

cozydark: Earliest Spiral Galaxy Observed | Astronomers have...

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 14:29:08 +0800

cozydark:

Earliest Spiral Galaxy Observed |

Astronomers have witnessed for the first time a spiral galaxy in the early universe, billions of years before many other spiral galaxies formed. In findings reported July 19 in the journal Nature, the astronomers said they discovered it while using the Hubble Space Telescope to take pictures of about 300 very distant galaxies in the early universe and to study their properties. This distant spiral galaxy is being observed as it existed roughly three billion years after the Big Bang, and light from this part of the universe has been traveling to Earth for about 10.7 billion years.

“As you go back in time to the early universe, galaxies look really strange, clumpy and irregular, not symmetric,” said Alice Shapley, a UCLA associate professor of physics and astronomy, and co-author of the study. “The vast majority of old galaxies look like train wrecks. Our first thought was, why is this one so different, and so beautiful?”

Galaxies in today’s universe divide into various types, including spiral galaxies like our own Milky Way, which are rotating disks of stars and gas in which new stars form, and elliptical galaxies, which include older, redder stars moving in random directions. The mix of galaxy structures in the early universe is quite different, with a much greater diversity and larger fraction of irregular galaxies, Shapley said.

“The fact that this galaxy exists is astounding,” said David Law, lead author of the study and Dunlap Institute postdoctoral fellow at the University of Toronto’s Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics. “Current wisdom holds that such ‘grand-design’ spiral galaxies simply didn’t exist at such an early time in the history of the universe.” A ‘grand design’ galaxy has prominent, well-formed spiral arms.

The galaxy, which goes by the not very glamorous name of BX442, is quite large compared with other galaxies from this early time in the universe; only about 30 of the galaxies that Law and Shapley analyzed are as massive as this galaxy. continue reading